With great regard for Jeff’s annoyance of top ten lists, instead of a list of what I think will become major marketing and media trends for the coming 12-18 months, these are the things I will be keeping a running interest in (in no particular order):
1) Genomic Marketing: With tests for genetic ancestry and inheritances hitting the market for under $1,000, expect more consumers to take the bait. This will initially affect marketing spaces by way of the bioproduct’s complexity and the need for the industry to educate consumers and their doctors about genetic predictabilities and phenotype interactions (we’re already seeing the results of the PR push). Secondarily, and most importantly, when more consumers are armed with their genetic predispositions we should expect marketers to respond by introducing products and campaigns that speak to your DNA and not your preferences, your fears instead of your aspirations. Good times.
2) The end of the “Celebutard” glut: After a year in which users not only passively watched but became de-facto participants in the complete self destruction of Britney and company, I have a gloomy sense that one of these narratives of posturing will end very, very tragically. During an election year, when voters will be asked to reflect on what it means to build a great society, the TMZs and In-Touch Magazines of the world will watch their audience slowly disappear. Hasselhoff will emerge as the proverbial nuclear roach.
3) Neuroscientific Retailing: From AdAge’s 2008 predictions
Going beyond traditional focus groups and consumer surveys, market research will embrace scientific approaches that literally tap consumers’ brains to learn how they neurologically respond to commercial messages and make brand choices The Four A’s and ARF have begun researching this topic in earnest with an intensive study, “On the Road to a New Effectiveness Model.” In 2008 we will start to see practical applications of these insights as advertisers and shops begin to truly understand engagement.
I agree, especially within the context of Spun’s own growth in behavioral insights and some of the functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques being used on the campaign trail, but think the real gains will be on the shelves.
The major retailers have been way ahead of their manufacturing peers and suppliers when it comes to understanding what drives category growth through their channels - from packaging and traffic patterns to narrowcasting media in-store and “retailtainment” positions. Expect to see (but maybe not hear about) shifts in the grocery and big box landscapes to reflect learnings from the neurosciences as well as continued growth of boutique retail environments geared toward the particular behaviors of discrete populations. And expect to be surprised by how much the back of your receipt knows about you.
4) The web will find its narrative voice: In what is currently still a very clinical medium, the well crafted turn of verse will begin to find its way onto websites and into interactive advertising. With thousands of Hollywood hacks flooding the market with words looking for pages (and no end to the strike in sight), brand story arcs will begin to take shape, and consumer engagement will not only be task driven, but plot driven. Gorilla playing the drums for chocolate – Ok. How about a Gorilla who has to keep playing the drums or else his Gorilla gal pal gets dumped into a vat of hot banana pudding… stay tuned (and sponsored by BENGAY®).
5) BOOMERvision!: Marketers have increasingly recognized the power of the Boomer generation’s income and impact – now they will start to segment and speak to it. Today, 50+ American adults represent 38% of the population, exploding to 47% by 2020, and control upwards of 70% of the nation’s wealth and half of all consumer spending. From “Leading Edgers” to those “Ready to Launch”, marketers will begin to understand the unique passion points of those born on the cusp of the boom versus those later on, the subtle differences between those who still have kids in the household to the empty nesters. Most agency and media pros, on the other hand, will not.
6) Green Fiends: This is already being covered ad nauseam in the trades, but companies that preach environmental consciousness better be really self-aware. Not only will consumers collectively call their bluff (and expensively flood their customer call centers), so will our elected officials, their competitors and their partners. In the end, many marketers will realize that grubby granola ground hippies don’t buy antiperspirants or luxury automobiles anyway. (Just kidding). And that capital sustainability is sometimes counterintuitive to environmental sustainability. (Not Kidding).
7) Election Rejection: Interactive marketing professionals will concentrate more during this election on topics that in no way impact their lives (insert that subject here), but will have no idea where the candidates stand on the most important topic to our field: net neutrality.
And finally, speaking of elections…
8) Real Beauty elected in landslide: After wasting months of meaningless grey matter over what the Mitchell report really means, the electorate will turn out in record numbers to select the winner of Dove’s campaign for real beauty:
